They Never Learn

When the news came that the Big Bank J.P. Morgan Chase had made the big mistake and had lost LOTS of money, (This morning CNN reported the figure was something like 5.8 billion for the first and second quarter) the two country bumpkins sitting at our kitchen table just looked at each other and smirked. Were we surprised? No! Why? Because, we had heard this exact scenario predicted several months ago on the Bill Moyers show on PBS.

Bill Moyers had as his guest that evening David Stockman. You will remember Stockman as the financial person who was a very important guy in the Reagon Administration. Since that time, he has been a very important guy in the financial world. He has observed the going's on in that world and he is not happy with it. He has written a book called, "Crony Capitalism". According to the interview, Stockman explains that the Wall Street crowd is operating in a lackadaisical manner and no wonder financial crisis is the result. He predicted that NOTHING has changed since the big fall in 2008 and that although rules have been put into place, they are not being enforced.

What about the regulators? They each look at their own area and have no idea how the whole fits together. The puzzle is so complex that the big picture is not visible.

So the J.P. Morgan Chase deal was not a surprise. And it was not a surprise to hear the lame excuses made by their head, Mr. Diamond. All of the big wheels complain they can't follow the rules put in place because that would put them at a competitive disadvantage with competitors in other countries. Meanwhile the investors take big hits and the head honchos continue to take home their big salaries and/or retirements and bonuses. And why does nothing get done by Congress? Because the Wall Street people line the pockets of all Congressmen and presidents and presidential candidates. The big money talks. end